Farragut faces rival Bearden after 19-game winning streak ends

Farragut High School engineered a 19-game winning streak, composed of a state-championship run last year — the first in program history — and seven straight victories to open this season, only to watch it fall by the wayside with a 42-32 loss at Dobyns-Bennett on Friday.

The two-hour bus ride home was a somber one, but a visit to an Admirals practice shows that feeling has not lingered.

“I hope they are disappointed, but it was going to happen sometime — we weren’t going to win forever and ever, even though we would like to think that,” Farragut head coach Eddie Courtney told 865 Preps. “Our kids responded the way I thought they would in practice and realized that we have to be ready to play every week.”

It was easier for the Admirals (7-1, 3-1 Region 1-6A) to bounce back with cross-town rival Bearden (4-3, 1-2) next up on the schedule.

The rivalry carries weight regardless of what sport is being played. It is a battle for bragging rights between two of the largest public schools in Knox County (by student population) separated by just eight miles.

For the first time since 2014, though, this game also has playoff implications with it being a region matchup.

“If you’re made of the right stuff, you realize that you need to put that one behind you,” Courtney said. “We still have something to play for. We still playing for the region championship, so as long as you keep that in perspective, you hopefully come back and play the game you are capable of playing.”

Farragut owns a 38-20 record in the series, including victories in the last four meetings and 17 of the last 19.

A year ago, then-junior tight end Jacob Warren caught the game-winning touchdown with two minutes, 49 seconds remaining to give the Admirals a 28-27 victory after erasing a 20-0 deficit.

They showed that same fight Friday at Dobyns-Bennett after falling behind 21-0, but were unable to replicate the same result.

The Admirals are hoping a hole to climb out of all together this time around as they attempt to get back on track.

“(Bearden is) playing well right now,” Courtney said. “They’ve had some bumps in the road, but they have bounced back. They know how to win and they have some very good athletes that are going to play hard.

“We have to be able to play our game and not get caught up in all the hype and make it so emotional that when something goes against you, you fall apart. There are going to be momentum swings, but we have to be ready to turn it back around in our favor.”

Managing editor for 865 Preps/865 Media and a contributor to Orange & White Report. Previously worked at the Knoxville News Sentinel, The Maryville Daily Times and MLB.com. Majored in Journalism and Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.